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Blackboard to Discuss Merger at Town Hall-Style Information Sessions at EDUCAUSE 2005

Blackboard & WebCT CEOs to Provide Overview, Followed by Q & A Session at Forums and EDUCAUSE Press Conference

WASHINGTON, DC -- (MARKET WIRE) -- October 13, 2005 -- Blackboard Inc. (NASDAQ: BBBB), a leading
provider of software and services to the education industry, announced
today that it will host two town hall-style information sessions at the
EDUCAUSE 2005 Annual Conference, in Orlando, Florida. The forums will
establish an open dialogue between members of the academic community and
Blackboard and WebCT CEOs about yesterday's announcement of a planned
merger.

The meetings will take place at the Orange County Convention Center, Room
W204A, on

A separate press conference will be held on Tuesday, October 18th, at 10 am
in the Rosen Center Hotel, Salon 4. A live Web-cast of the press conference
will be available at www.blackboard.com/mergerwebcast.

"This is a very exciting time for Blackboard and WebCT, as well as for the
numerous people who are so passionately committed to education," said
Michael Chasen, Blackboard President and CEO. "We recognize that
yesterday's announcement may have created more questions than answers. In
the coming days, weeks and months, we will do our best to listen to these
questions and concerns and respond to them with solutions that will benefit
education for the long term. The EDUCAUSE information sessions represent a
first step in this process."

The merger of Blackboard and WebCT marks a major milestone for the
education industry, creating the category leader in higher education course
and content management systems. More than 3,700 academic institutions
worldwide (including a sampling in the corporate sector) rely on solutions
offered through the combined company to enhance education with technology.

The EDUCAUSE forums will feature opening remarks from Blackboard President
and CEO, Michael Chasen and WebCT President and CEO, Carol Vallone,
following which the floor will be open to audience questions and comments.

In addition to providing details about its planned merger with WebCT,
Blackboard will also unveil its latest product release at EDUCAUSE,
offering demonstrations at the Blackboard booth, # 413 in the EDUCAUSE
Exhibit Hall. Blackboard has also formed a partnership with GTCO Calcomp, a
world leader in computer input peripherals for EDUCAUSE. GTCO Calcomp is a
Blackboard Building Block partner offering a solution for a student
response system called InterWrite PRS. This solution allows teachers to
transform their classrooms by accurately and instantly assessing student
comprehension in a dynamic and engaging learning environment.

About Blackboard Inc.

Blackboard Inc. (NASDAQ: BBBB) is a leading provider of enterprise software
applications and related services to the education industry. Founded in
1997, Blackboard enables educational innovations everywhere by connecting
people and technology. With two product suites, the Blackboard Academic
Suite™ and the Blackboard Commerce Suite™, Blackboard is used by
millions of people at academic institutions around the globe, including
colleges, universities, K-12 schools and other education providers, as well
as textbook publishers and student-focused merchants that serve education
providers and their students. Blackboard is headquartered in Washington,
D.C., with offices in North America, Europe and Asia.

Blackboard

Educate. Innovate. Everywhere.

Any statements in this press release about future expectations, plans and
prospects for Blackboard and other statements containing the words
"believes," "anticipates," "plans," "expects," "will," and similar
expressions, constitute forward-looking statements within the meaning of
The Private Securities Litigation Reform Act of 1995. Actual results may
differ materially from those indicated by such forward-looking statements
as a result of various important factors, including the factors discussed
in the "Risk Factors" section of our Quarterly Report on Form 10-Q filed on
August 3, 2005 with the SEC. In addition, the forward-looking statements
included in this press release represent the Company's views as of October
13, 2005. The Company anticipates that subsequent events and developments
will cause the Company's views to change. However, while the Company may
elect to update these forward-looking statements at some point in the
future, the Company specifically disclaims any obligation to do so. These
forward-looking statements should not be relied upon as representing the
Company's views as of any date subsequent to October 13, 2005.